Thursday, September 24, 2009

Lesson Levels 9/25/09

Nothing is ever completely what it is in our understanding. The more familiar it becomes, the more we discover about it.

DB - The Vagabond******************There's the fridge. Help yourself.______________________I was interviewing a violinist who played with a world famous string quartet. We were discussing a piece the group had just recorded, a late Beethoven quartet. I noted that they had recorded the same work some years previously and asked why they wanted to do it again. He said it was because of the discoveries. He said they could play the piece 200 times and still find something new in it.

I thought about my own career and remembered that on 4 occasions I returned to a role I had played before, in some cases many years before, and each time it was like a new experience. Certain things seemed to have been hidden from me that were uncovered as a result of revisiting the part.

It wasn't that the previous performances weren't good, as good as I could make them. It was that as time went my, and I grew some, and that the experiences and ideas of the play had their gestation period in my own consciousness I awoke to a different mental scene when I picked up the script again.

I had also learned more about the art of acting in the mean time and thus could apply that skill to a better, clearer articulation of the play.

There is probably nothing more complex in the universe than a human being (in spite of how simple minded some people may seem) and therefore human relationships are among the most complicated of activities. How often have you discovered some important fact or disposition about a friend that you never knew about? Imagine 4 musicians sitting there rediscovering a Beethoven quartet and discovering themselves and each other in the process.

An astrophysicist at NASA was asked recently if it's depressing that they don't know much about the universe. He answered "No. It's exciting."

DB - Vagabond******************Try on a big smile. See if it fits._______________________

5 comments:

I think that as life continues to shape us, it causes us to change the way we shape what we deal with in life, whether it's people, work, or artistry. I know that I'm not the same person I was 20 years ago, or even 5 years ago. It stands to reason that we react to things differently as we accrue more life experience.

hmmmwhat's in your fridge?on a tv show called 'Cribs'my favorite part is when they open their fridgelolif you and I got togetherwe'd have to celebrateI could bring something to drinkor we could go outor both

About Me

I am an actor and broadcaster. I am grateful to have spent my life in the arts. Now I also write and paint. I am humbly trying to overcome selfishness, it's effects and regrets. I read history, philosophy, psychology and religion. My desire is to share what I have with the world while trying to make sense of a difficult life and enjoying the journey, no rituals, no rules, no summations.